Genesis 37-45 Cleaning a Fish--Judah, a Character Study

Preface: A Personal Note

When I was a very young Christian, still learning the beginnings of the ways of God and still learning how to live as a believer with a very nonbelieving spouse, our family of four—we had two young children—took a driving and camping trip to the back country of California along Highway 395.
This country was familiar to me, for as a young person still in my parents’ care, my parents had taken their family—they, myself, and my two brothers—to Yosemite National Park on several occasions. Although we would drive through and visit Yosemite Valley, we always camped in a tent at Tuolumne Meadows.
We hiked lots of trails and mountains, and Tuolumne Meadows became my most favorite place in all the world, for many reasons and at many levels of my heart and spirit.
There were two ways of entering Tuolumne Meadows. One was through what I call “the front”, that is, through lower Yosemite, near where Yosemite Valley lies, and the other through what I call “the back”, that is, north along Highway 395, through Bishop, through Lee Vining, and then up the steeply climbing, barren, rocky, mountainous road that passed through Tioga Pass.
On this particular day with our own children, my husband had decided to drive our ’56 Chevy through Tioga Pass and down into Yosemite Valley. “Yay!!” my heart was screaming inside of me.
We began the ascent, and came to the National Park booth, where the National Park ranger stopped all vehicles and asked for the entrance fee. Although I don’t remember exactly, the entrance fee that year was approximately $2 to $4 per passenger vehicle. As a political statement, my husband balked and turned the car around, including us, refusing to enter my most favorite place in all the world. Instead, he continued driving us north along 395, one of the most barren stretches of highway to be found anywhere. He had absolutely refused to pay the small park entrance fee, thus denying me access to the place my heart held most dear in all the world.
When we stopped at a viewpoint along the highway, leaning on the stone wall facing a sheer rock face of stone on the far side of a small gorge, I prayed, asking the Lord to help me understand.
Immediately, it was as though the Lord had said in my heart, “Let’s go back to Judah.”
There was a history behind that statement. As a young Christian, some short while before, I had begun  doing what many, if not most, young Christians do. I was reading the Bible from the front cover forward. Having arrived at the chapters in Genesis concerning Judah, I had expressed some questions to the Lord; I didn’t understand those chapters, and I had asked for His help.
So when the Lord seemingly said to me, Let’s go back to Judah, I was right there with Him. As the Lord continued speaking, as it were, in my heart, He explained to me that Judah was a tool in the Lord’s hand. The Lord used Judah to help accomplish a specific purpose, the salvation of the Hebrew people from the seven year famine.
Judah was used in a “dirty” job—he arranged for his brother Joseph to be sold into slavery in Egypt, and he arranged for his father Jacob to believe that his favorite son, the son of his beloved Rachel, had been torn to pieces by a wild animal. That’s how Joseph got into Egypt.
But Judah’s story wasn’t finished. God later took Judah, his filthy tool, cleaned him up, and put him back into His toolbox. He appeared again later in the story of Joseph, but in a very different role. God, as it were, explained to my young, greatly struggling heart, that my husband was like Judah. He was a tool in God’s hand. The implication was strong that my husband, also, would in time be “cleaned” and replaced into God’s toolbox in a proper way, because God is a master craftsman, one who takes good care of His tools.
All this the Lord conveyed to my heart in a matter of barely a few moments, it seemed, as I leaned upon the stone wall, gazing upon the rock cliff across the gorge at the viewpoint where my husband had stopped the car. In later years, having gone back to these chapters in Genesis and having meditated upon them as my faith progressed in scriptural knowledge and in the ways of the Lord, I worked out what I will be sharing with you in the remainder of this article.

Part I: Judah’s Treachery

Section A: Judah’s Older Brothers
One—Reuben.
We learn in Genesis 29:35 that Judah was the fourth son born to Jacob through his first wife, Leah. The first three were Reuben, Simeon, and Levi.
Genesis 35:22 tells us that Reuben, the eldest, was of very low character, because he went in and lay with his father’s concubine, Bilhah.
In Genesis 37:21-30, we find that although Reuben was not directly connected with the plot to eliminate Joseph, and although he even desired in his heart to save Joseph, he had no power as the eldest to prevent his brothers’ wicked schemes, nor was he even present to do so, as the treachery was taking place.
In Genesis 38:24, it was Simeon, not Reuben the eldest, who was kept prisoner by Joseph in Egypt, until the brothers should return again with their youngest brother Benjamin. Reuben, the eldest, did not offer to stay instead of Simeon, the younger of the two.
In Genesis 42:22, the most that Reuben can contribute to the brothers’ discussion of their predicament at Joseph’s hand during their first trip to Egypt is an attitude of “I told you so!”, further indicating his lack of power as the eldest of the siblings.
In Genesis 42:37, we see further evidence of the weakness of Reuben’s character. By this time, the brothers have returned to their father Jacob with Joseph’s edict that they not return again without their youngest brother Benjamin. Jacob loved Benjamin, much as he had loved Joseph, in that Benjamin was Joseph’s full brother, the last born son of Jacob’s beloved Rachel, who had died immediately after Benjamin’s birth (Genesis 35:17-19).
But here, in Genesis 42:37, when the brothers are requesting that their father Jacob send Benjamin with them back to Joseph in Egypt, notice Reuben’s response to his father’s objections:
Genesis 42:37 Then Reuben said to his father, "You may put my two sons to death if I do not bring him back to you. Put him in my care and I will bring him back to you." (Gen 42:37 NET)
In the verse above, Reuben suggested to his father Jacob that he become a murderer of two of his grandsons (as if that would somehow compensate the death or disappearance of Jacob’s own son Benjamin). Reuben was willing to sacrifice the lives of his two sons, but his own life he would spare. Reuben was very weak in character.
God makes further comment on Reuben’s lack of character in Genesis 39:44, a recap of his sin of defiling his father’s bed.
Two—Simeon.
Simeon was hasty and violent. In Genesis 34 we read how he viciously avenged the honor of his sister Dinah without consulting his father Jacob. By treachery, he and his brother Levi slew all the men in an entire town. As a result, Jacob and his household having been placed in danger, God told Jacob to pack his belongings and move to a new location. Jacob’s curse falls on Simeon in Genesis 49:5-7.
Three—Levi.
Levi presumably followed in Simeon’s footsteps. He was Simeon’s younger partner in the verses mentioned above in connection with Simeon’s violence, and he and Simeon were named together in Jacob’s curse upon them, Genesis 49:5-7. Moses was descended through Levi.
Section B: Judah
Judah, by default, being next in line from Reuben, Simeon, and Levi, became the leader of the twelve siblings. In the history of young Joseph’s being sold into slavery in Egypt, it was Judah who was responsible for saving his life, although the actual motive is difficult to read. Judah’s motive for sparing Joseph may have been pity on a blood brother, callous hypocrisy towards the killing of a blood brother, a greedy desire for financial gain, or a combination of any or all of the above.
Genesis 37:26 Then Judah said to his brothers, "What profit is there if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? ²⁷ Come, let's sell him to the Ishmaelites, but let's not lay a hand on him, for after all, he is our brother, our own flesh." His brothers agreed. ²⁸ So when the Midianite merchants passed by, Joseph's brothers pulled him out of the cistern and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. The Ishmaelites then took Joseph to Egypt.(Gen 37:26 NET)
In any event, Judah’s character at this point in the Joseph narrative was highly flawed. Although he did show leadership over his brothers, it was a leadership of wickedness that favored financial gain. He betrayed his younger brother, selling him to foreigners as a slave; he broke his father’s heart, impervious and jealously callous to the openly stated love of his father towards Joseph, his own half-brother.
Yet, as we find out later in the Joseph narrative, Judah became a presence of righteousness in God’s economy. We’ll jump ahead and look at the later Judah.

Part II: Judah’s Honor

In the later portion of the history of Joseph in Egypt, we encounter a very different Judah from the one who sold his brother into slavery. We see a man of compassion and responsibility, one who has great love for his father, and one who is willing to sacrifice his own life for the well-being and lives of others. We will be considering Judah’s words to both Jacob and Joseph in this section.
Section A: Judah Pleads with His Father
Judah’s first (short) speech is to his father Jacob, in which he tries to convince his father to allow Benjamin to go to Egypt on the brothers’ second visit there. In point of time, Judah’s speech follows that of Reuben’s, an unspecified length of days prior.
Genesis 43:3 But Judah said to him, "The man solemnly warned us, 'You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.' ⁴ If you send our brother with us, we'll go down and buy food for you. ⁵ But if you will not send him, we won't go down there because the man said to us, 'You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.'" ⁶ Israel said, "Why did you bring this trouble on me by telling the man you had one more brother?" ^{... 8} Then Judah said to his father Israel, "Send the boy with me and we will go immediately. Then we will live and not die– we and you and our little ones. ⁹ I myself pledge security for him; you may hold me liable. If I do not bring him back to you and place him here before you, I will bear the blame before you all my life.(Gen 43:3 NET)
Notice that unlike Reuben—whose offer to Jacob had been that he, Jacob, had Reuben’s permission to murder Reuben’s two sons if Reuben did not bring back Benjamin alive—Judah offered to his father Jacob his own life as a pledge of security for Benjamin’s safe return.
Section B: The Setup: Joseph’s Test of His Brothers’ Character
Genesis 43 describes how Jacob sends the nine brothers back to Joseph in Egypt (Simeon was in prison there), along with Benjamin, the youngest of the twelve. Joseph greets his younger brother with great emotion, and they dine and drink wine together.
Genesis 44 reveals a test that Joseph devised to test the character of his brothers. The test involved the hiding Joseph’s own silver chalice in Benjamin’s sack, thereby making it appear as though Benjamin had stolen the cup. When Joseph’s servant pursued the brothers on their way back to Canaan, they made a rash vow, not knowing that the cup indeed had been hidden in Benjamin’s sack. Scripture does not tell us which of the brothers, nor how many of them spoke; it’s a group vow—
Genesis 44:9 If one of us has it, he will die, and the rest of us will become my lord's slaves!"(Gen 44:9 NET)
Joseph’s servant accepted their vow, although he modified the terms so that in accordance with the setup of Joseph's test only Benjamin would have to suffer.
Genesis 44:10 He replied, "You have suggested your own punishment! The one who has it will become my slave, but the rest of you will go free."(Gen 44:10 NET)
The outcome—
Genesis 44:11So each man quickly lowered his sack to the ground and opened it. ¹² Then the man searched. He began with the oldest and finished with the youngest. The cup was found in Benjamin's sack! ¹³ They all tore their clothes! Then each man loaded his donkey, and they returned to the city.(Gen 44:11 NET)
In the very next verse, God reveals Judah as the named leader of the brothers in that Judah is the one who had pledged to his father Jacob his own life as surety for that of Benjamin.
Genesis 44:14 So Judah and his brothers came back to Joseph's house. He was still there, and they threw themselves to the ground before him. (Gen 44:14 NET)
Section C: Judah Pleads with Joseph
Judah’s first line of defense is to make Joseph the offer that all the brothers will stay in Egypt as his slaves. That way, the brothers would not be leaving Benjamin alone in a foreign land, as they had done to Joseph so many years before.
But Joseph would have none of that, because he was recreating a similar situation as the one that he had endured at his brothers’ hands—
Genesis 44:17 But Joseph said, "Far be it from me to do this! The man in whose hand the cup was found will become my slave, but the rest of you may go back to your father in peace."(Gen 44:17 NET)
Judah replied to Joseph, pleading for the life of Benjamin. I consider this second speech of honor as one of the finest passages of empathetic, self-sacrificial love in all of scripture.
Genesis 44:18 Then Judah approached him and said, "My lord, please allow your servant to speak a word with you. Please do not get angry with your servant, for you are just like Pharaoh. ¹⁹ My lord asked his servants, 'Do you have a father or a brother?' ²⁰ We said to my lord, 'We have an aged father, and there is a young boy who was born when our father was old. The boy's brother is dead. He is the only one of his mother's sons left, and his father loves him.' ²¹ "Then you told your servants, 'Bring him down to me so I can see him.' ²² We said to my lord, 'The boy cannot leave his father. If he leaves his father, his father will die.' ²³ But you said to your servants, 'If your youngest brother does not come down with you, you will not see my face again.' ²⁴ When we returned to your servant my father, we told him the words of my lord. ²⁵ "Then our father said, 'Go back and buy us a little food.' ²⁶ But we replied, 'We cannot go down there. If our youngest brother is with us, then we will go, for we won't be permitted to see the man's face if our youngest brother is not with us.' ²⁷ "Then your servant my father said to us, 'You know that my wife gave me two sons. ²⁸ The first disappeared and I said, "He has surely been torn to pieces." I have not seen him since. ²⁹ If you take this one from me too and an accident happens to him, then you will bring down my gray hair in tragedy to the grave.' ³⁰ "So now, when I return to your servant my father, and the boy is not with us– his very life is bound up in his son's life. ³¹ When he sees the boy is not with us, he will die, and your servants will bring down the gray hair of your servant our father in sorrow to the grave. ³² Indeed, your servant pledged security for the boy with my father, saying, 'If I do not bring him back to you, then I will bear the blame before my father all my life.' ³³ "So now, please let your servant remain as my lord's slave instead of the boy. As for the boy, let him go back with his brothers. ³⁴ For how can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? I couldn't bear to see my father's pain."(Gen 44:34 NET)
Judah had passed the test!
For Joseph broke down and wept, revealing himself to his brothers in Genesis 45:1-4.
Then, in verses 5-8, Joseph gives his brothers and ourselves as readers of God’s holy Word, the key to the entire narrative—how God used the brothers’ inherent evil to accomplish His own purpose of goodness in salvation.
Genesis 45:5 Now, do not be upset and do not be angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me ahead of you to preserve life!... ⁷ God sent me ahead of you to preserve you on the earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. ⁸ So now, it is not you who sent me here, but God…(Gen 45:5 NET) ¹
The last time we hear of Judah in connection with this portion of biblical history is when Jacob blesses him with these words—
Genesis 49:8 Judah, your brothers will praise you. Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies, your father's sons will bow down before you.(Gen 49:8 NET)
And, indeed we know that the lineage of Jesus Christ passed through Judah, and that one of His titles is “Lion of Judah” (Revelation 5:5).
How Judah passed from Point A, Treacherous Villain, to Point B, Honorable Leader, Brother, and Son, will be the topic of Part III of this article.

Part II: Judah’s Change—How God “Cleaned” His Tool

The historical narrative of Joseph and Jacob stretches all the way from Genesis 37 through Genesis 50. While most of the chapters deal directly with Joseph, Judah claims a secondary role. In Chapter 37, Joseph is sold by his brothers to slavery. Joseph’s time in Egypt is the subject of chapters 39 through the rest of the book.
What do we make of Chapter 38, in which the main character is not Joseph, nor even Judah, but a widow turned prostitute named Tamar? The story of Tamar in Genesis 38 is based upon what later became the law of God concerning Levirate marriage^2-3. Although her history does not seem to have much direct connection with the Joseph narrative, I propose that it does.
I believe that Chapter 38 provides the key to Judah’s great change of character from treacherous villain to self-sacrificing leader. Chapter 38 shows how God “deals” with His children, bringing them into conformity to Christ. Tamar, though the main actress, is another tool in God’s hand, which He uses to teach some serious lessons to Judah.
We saw in Genesis 37 that Judah’s heart was cold. It was cold and filled with jealousy toward his younger brother Joseph, whom he callously sold into slavery. It was cold and callous toward his father Jacob, as Judah and his brothers presented to him Joseph’s blood-stained tunic, allowing him to believe that wild animals had torn his body apart and eaten him.
Genesis 38 shows us how God taught Judah what such cruelty meant, subjectively, in his own experience. Disregarding God’s commandment passed down from great-grandfather Abraham through his grandfather Isaac, Judah married a Canaanite woman and bore three sons, Er, Onan, and Shelah.
Er married Tamar.
Genesis 38:7 But Er, Judah's firstborn, was evil in the LORD's sight, so the LORD killed him.(Gen 38:7 NET)
That was blow number one by God upon Judah’s heart. His firstborn son died.
Judah knew the second son’s duty to marry his brother’s wife and raise up progeny for him, and he commanded his son to do so, thereby showing respect for God’s law. But Onan did not want to “waste” his seed on progeny that would not be his own, so he acted wickedly. God judged him and killed Onan.
Genesis 38:10 What he did was evil in the LORD's sight, so the LORD killed him too.(Gen 38:10 NET)
That was blow number two by God upon Judah’s heart. He now had lost both his firstborn and his second born sons.
How do we know and understand the depth of grief that Judah felt in his heart towards his two deceased sons? Verse 11 tells us—
Genesis 38:11 Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, "Live as a widow in your father's house until Shelah my son grows up." For he thought, "I don't want him to die like his brothers." So Tamar went and lived in her father's house.(Gen 38:11 NET)
We already knew that Judah was aware of and respected God’s wishes, in that he had commanded his second son to marry his brother’s widow to raise up an heir for him. But here in verse 11, we find that Judah chose to disobey God for the purpose of sparing the life of his third son, Shelah. He also chose to willfully consign a young woman to perpetual, childless widowhood, anathema for a woman in those days and in that culture. Judah made these evil choices rather than risk the death of his youngest son. We can read into these actions that his father’s heart was deeply wounded and grieving.
We find further evidence that Judah esteemed obedience to God’s law as a high priority as the Tamar narrative continues to unfold. In Genesis 38:24, when Judah is informed that his daughter-in-law has become pregnant through harlotry, his response is to “Bring her out and let her be burned!” He must have been following the religious customs of his day.
He later exclaimed of her righteousness in comparison to his own—
Genesis 38:26…"She is more upright than I am, because I wouldn't give her to Shelah my son." …(Gen 38:26 NET)
Yet, in spite of his knowledge of and respect for God's law in these particular matters, we see that Judah chose to disobey God for the purpose of sparing himself the grief of losing another son.

Conclusion

And so, God shows us in Genesis chapter 38 how He taught Judah the grief of a father’s heart by having his own two sons die an untimely death. Knowledge of a father’s love for his children and knowledge of a father’s grief became evident in the later choices Judah made in offering his own life as surety for the life of Benjamin.
Unlike Reuben, who offered Jacob the lives of his own two children as surety, Judah did not offer the life of his son Shelah. He offered his own life. He did this because he now understood firsthand the grief he had caused his father Jacob concerning the apparent death of Joseph and the grief he would be causing him if he did not return Benjamin to him alive and well.
Genesis 44:34 For how can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? I couldn't bear to see my father's pain."(Gen 44:34 NET)
This is how God cleaned a fish. This is how God used a tool from His toolbox in a less than honorable way, but later cleaned the tool and replaced it in His box to be used again in an honorable way.
All praise, blessing, and glory to our sovereign God.
_____________________
¹This also is the message that God was giving me (see preface, A Personal Note) as I leaned over the stone wall asking Him to help me understand the apparent thwarting of my heart’s desire through certain character qualities of my husband. I was not to think of my frustration as due to failure on my husband’s part, but as God in His sovereignty using my husband’s inherent character qualities to bring about His own purposes in me.
²Deuteronomy 25:5-10
³http://www.theropps.com/papers/Winter1997/Genesis38exegesis.htm Levirate Marriage